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China in Ideological Reorganization, 1912-1921: Intellectual Changes 中國思想改革
The Three Principles of the People (San Min Chu I) and the Rise of the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang / Guomindang)
ORIGINS OF THE THREE PRINCIPLES OF THE PEOPLE
The Three Principles of the People was worked out by Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian) in the beginning years of the 1900s. It contained some broad political, social and economic programs for saving China. The purpose was both to attract more people to the anti-Manchu revolutionary movement and to prepare for national re-construction after revolutionary success. In 1924, however, Sun expanded this body of beliefs in greater detail. He believed that a more complete ideology which set out national goals and laid down plans to achieve them was required after repeated failures in unifying the country since 1911.
CONTENTS OF THE THREE PRINCIPLES OF THE PEOPLE
Sun's Three Principles of the People was rooted in President Lincoln's famous statement "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" (which is a summary of democracy). From this statement came the three principles: Nationalism - "government of the people" Democracy —"government by the people" Socialism - "government for the people"
A. Nationalism (min-tsu)
i. From anti-Manchuism to anti-imperialism - Before the 1911 Revolution, Sun Yat-sen's "nationalism" referred mainly to anti-Manchuism. The final objective had been the overthrow of the Ch'ing (Qing) dynasty and the creation of a modern Chinese nation. This was achieved in 1911. After the year, therefore, the principle of nationalism was defined as the freeing of China from foreign imperialism and the unequal treaties. The final objective now was to regain China's national independence and international equality.
ii. The need to restore racial spirit and pride - Sun Yat-sen believed that China's racial spirit and pride had been lost in centuries of Manchu rule and in the last hundred years or so of foreign imperialism. To strengthen Chinese nationalism, Sun suggested four ways:
a. a return to the ancient Chinese morality and learning as a check on those who blindly admired things Western,
b. strengthening of existing Chinese clan and family systems as the smallest bonds of national unity,
c. refusal to buy foreign goods as a resistance to foreign economic imperialism, and
d. adoption of Western science and technology.
B. Democracy (min-chuan "people's right or powers")
i. The true meaning of democracy - According to Sun Yat-sen, national right would always belong to the people, but the people would give power to a few trusted leaders who had the ability to make good use of political power. Sun gave a modern illustration. The owner of a motor-car (people) had the power (ownership) but not the ability to drive it. His driver (leaders), however, had the ability but no power.
ii. Structure of government - According to Sun's theory of "Five-power Constitution", the government should consist of five sections:
a. executive - for putting into practice government measures, by a President and his cabinet.
b. legislative - for making laws, by representatives elected from the people.
c. judiciary - for conducting legal matters and protecting the constitution from being violated.
d. civil service examination - for selecting able government officials.
e. control - for preventing and taking precautions against illegal practices in government.
While the first three sections were modern government branches, the last two were traditional Chinese systems. In such an arrangement, the executive would be strong and efficient, but it would easily be checked by the control section.
iii. Powers of the people - Political powers that were given to the people included:
a. suffrage- right to vote in political elections
b. recall - right to remove an official from office by a vote of the people
c. initiative - right to propose a law for the government
d. referendum - right to pass judgement on a political question undecided by the government
With these weapons, the people could make sure that the executive, though strong, would be responsible to them.
iv. Stages of democracy - A complete, orderly revolutionary time-table was worked out:
a. First, the period of military unification of the country, during which the army would rule.
b. Then, the period of party tutelage, during which the KMT party would educate the people on matters about democracy, and would appoint trained men to help in local self-rule.
c. Lastly, the period of constitutional democracy, when the government would have the five power branches and four people's rights mentioned above functioning efficiently.
Before the 1920s, Sun Yat-sen specifically laid down that the first stage would last for 3 years and the second 6 years. In 1924, however, he no longer set specific lengths for each.
v. Nationalism more important than democracy - Sun Yat-sen believed that the Chinese had known too much freedom and that they lacked unity and nationalist feelings. Discipline and organization were therefore needed to strengthen unity among the Chinese people. In short, nationalism seemed more important than democracy.
C. Socialism (min-sheng "people's livelihood")
i. Motives - Sun Yat-sen intended to work out a social program not only to attract young intellectuals and win popular support from peasants and workers, but also to keep the loyalty of the traditional-minded KMT followers. Consequently, the principle of min-sheng was neither too conservative as to disappoint the young, progressive intellectuals, nor too radical to frighten off Sun's KMT supporters. It combined modern, Western economic theories with ancient, Chinese principles of economic justice.
ii. China's social problems and solutions - To Sun Yat-sen, China's problems were social poverty and economic backwardness. To solve these two problems, Sun laid down the following solutions:
a. Equalization of land rights - Each landowner would be asked to estimate the value of his land fairly. The profits he was going to make from his land would then be fixed. Thereafter, if the land value rose, the additional profit would go to the government, not to the private landowner. The size of each landlord's land was also limited, while land-rents which he could impose on the tenant-farmers were controlled. The government would have the right to buy land from private landowners at the estimated price. Such land would then be rented (at low price) or simply granted to the landless people.
b. Encouragement of agriculture - The use of agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers was encouraged. The objective was agricultural prosperity.
c. Control of capital (money) - The government would also regulate and control the flow of money in the country, so that there would not be a corrupt class of wealthy capitalists who exploited the people.
d. Developments of industry and railway - The government would at the same time promote industrialization and railway construction itself. Through state-planning, the development of industry would progress smoothly and bring benefits to all the people rather than just to a wealthy few.
iii. Reform rather than revolution - All these social measures were to be carried out peacefully and gradually through government laws rather than through violent class struggle as Communism advocated. China's standard of living would then be raised steadily. In short, Sun Yat-sen aimed at social reform, not social revolution.
MERITS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE THREE PRINCIPLES OF THE PEOPLE
A. Merits
i. Weapon for effective propaganda - Being highly nationalistic, the Three Principles of the People provided effective propaganda for China's nationalist revolution. By putting much of the blame for China's weakness on foreign imperialism, Sun Yat-sen had found a common enemy for all Chinese to fight against. This quickened China's national unification.
ii. Guide-line for reform in the future - The detailed and programmed plan of the future government and society gave some guide-lines as to how China should be reformed after national unification. The ideas, in fact, offered ideological weapons to compete with Communism in China.
iii. Simple, complete and flexible solutions - Sun's ideas gave simple and complete answers to the complicated problems of China, thereby saving much of the young intellectuals' effort to analyse China's ills. Because the ideas came from both China and the West, and because the thoughts were not put forward as absolute truth, men of different opinions could gather round the Three Principles of the People without serious disagreements.
iv. Moral authority for the KMT - Rather than borrowing totally and directly from foreign cultures, Sun had created an ideology that was partly rooted in Chinese tradition. With such an ideology, the KMT could claim moral authority to represent the Chinese nation.
v. Growing attention paid to social and economic problems - The Three Principles of the People was the first body of thought produced by a popular leader in China to include an analysis of social and economic problems. More and more Chinese intellectuals paid attention to these problems.
B. Weaknesses
i. Lack of practicable methods to put ideas into practice - The Three Principles of the People only concentrated on setting out and discussing goals for China, but not so much on working out specific, practicable and tested methods to reach these goals. Sun said much on what China's problems were, but not on how they could be solved. For example, the use of government laws to equalize land rights in society was impractical, since traditionally, effective government power could seldom penetrate into- the village, which was dominated by influential landlords.
ii. General neglect of the countryside - In content, the Three Principles of the People had much more to say to China's coastal treaty-ports and cities than it did to the large interior countryside areas. This was because Sun was familiar with the modernized cities only. Consequently, the serious problems of the backward countryside were not paid much attention to.
iii. Dangers of unreal democracy - Sun's principle of democracy was subject to the following dangers: a Instead of the people choosing and giving power to a few able leaders, it might turn out to be that these able leaders were self-elected and selfishly kept political power themselves, in which case democracy would become dictatorship. b Instead of educating the people on democratic practices, the self-chosen leaders might prolong the period of military rule or party tutelage for self-interests. I n the name of national unity, these leaders could take away the people's rights.
iv. Others - Some of Sun's ideas were not always logical, correct and consistent. As some famous economic historians pointed out, his arguments about land values in the city and about China's poverty simply did not stand up.
THE NATIONALIST PARTY (GUOMINDANG), 1912-1916
A. The formation of the Koumintang (KMT) / Guomindang
i. Inactivity of Sun Yat-sen and Huang Hsing - After the 1911 success, both Sun Yat-sen and Huang Hsing were rather inactive. Both of them seemed sincerely hopeful that Yuan Shih-k'ai would be a responsible president. Huang Hsing, for example, even disbanded the revolutionary troops under his command.
ii. The rise to power of Sung Chiao-yen - Within the Revolutionary Alliance (T'ung-meng hui , formed in 1905), once the revolution was successfully achieved, professional revolutionaries like Sun and Huang no longer commanded the top leadership. In times of peace, these revolutionaries lacked the kind of political skills needed for party politics. It was Sung Chiao-yen, an intellectual and trained politician, who came to power in the T'ung-meng hui.
iii. Rise of the Kuomintang - Under Sung Chiao-yen's guidance, the T'ung-meng hui absorbed some minor parties to form the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1912. The KMT would win votes in the parliament, form a cabinet, and check the power of the ambitious president Yuan Shih-k'ai.
B. The Kuomintang and Yuan Shih-k'ai
i. Assassination of Sung Chiao-yen - In elections, the KMT won a big victory. Sung Chiao-yen was ready to form a new party cabinet. In 1913, however, he was assassinated. It was believed that Yuan Shih-k'ai was responsible for the murder.
ii. The unsuccessful "Second Revolution" and the ban on tie KMT - When Yuan tried to negotiate an illegal loan from the foreign powers without the parliament's approval, Sun Yat-sen (who had come back participating more actively in politics) and the KMT started the so-called "Second Revolution" against Yuan. It was a failure. Late 1913, Yuan banned the KMT, which was driven underground.
THE CHINESE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY (CHUNG-HUA KO-MING TANG) 1914-1918
A. The rise of the party
i. Formation - In 1914 Sun Yat-sen formed a Chinese Revolutionary Party to continue what he believed to be the unfinished national revolution.
ii. Centralization within the party - As Sun blamed the failure of the Second Revolution in 1913 on disunity within the KMT rather than on Yuan's military strength, the Chinese Revolutionary Party was centralized in organization:
a. Every party member had to swear an oath of loyalty to Sun himself.
b. The Three Principles of the People and Sun's ideas about government were emphasized.
B. Sun Yat-sen's activities
i. Weakening of the party - Out of dissatisfaction with these measures, quite a few original T'ung-meng hui members (including Huang Hsing) refrained from joining this new party led by Sun. Instead, they set up other political organizations. In this way, the Chinese Revolutionary Party was weakened in power. Sun himself lost many friends.
ii. Continued appeal for foreign help - Sun Yat-sen was eager for foreign help. He repeatedly turned to his Japanese friends for support in order to overthrow Yuan Shih-k'ai. Thus when the Japanese government presented the 21 Demands to China, Sun's attitude was rather uncertain: neither fully condemning the Japanese action nor supporting it. After the 21 Demands, he continued to write to call for Japanese help. He lost more of his friends who were anti-Japanese in the political circle.
iii. Inactivity of the party - As a result, Sun's party was not active. Just one or two unsuccessful armed uprisings were tried. During Yuan Shih-k'ai's attempted restoration of monarchy in 1916, Sun joined the anti-Yuan movement. But he did not play a leading part. Liang Ch'i-ch'ao was the most important figure.
C. Split of the party
In 1917 Sun founded a National Military Government in Canton, made himself the Generalissimo, tried but failed to march troops northward, and declared war on Germany to deprive the Peking warlord of the claim to represent China. Yet the party he led was still weak and ineffectual:
i. It depended on the selfish Kwangtung warlords for military support. They did not whole-heartedly back Sun Yat-sen.
ii. Within the Chinese Revolutionary Party, Sun's followers held different political views (from rightist to leftist) and were divided into rival factions among themselves. The more conservative, rightist members, for example, somehow favoured making peace and bargaining with the warlords.
In 1918, Sun's rightist followers abandoned him. They allied themselves with some warlords who were unfriendly to Sun. The Chinese Revolutionary Party thus died out.
THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE (Guomindang) KUOMINTANG (KMT) IN 1919
A. The KMT as an open political party
i. Re-constitution of the KMT - In 1919, Sun Yat-sen reorganized the KMT (which had been driven underground since 1913) as an open political party once again.
ii. Appeal for support to different social classes - Realizing that limited and divided party membership was the main reason for past failures, Sun now tried to win support from the different classes of Chinese society, such as merchants, landlord-gentry, city middle-class people, students, peasants and workers. The May Fourth Incident in 1919 further convinced him that for a successful revolution, nationalism and the masses must be made use of. Whereas previous revolutionary organizations like the T'ung-meng hui and the Chinese Revolutionary Party consisted mostly of small groups of intellectuals and secret-society members, Sun Yat-sen now sought to enlarge KMT membership and win popular support.
B. The KMT establishment in Canton
i. Alliance and then conflict with a Kwangtung warlord - In 1920, Sun Yat-sen was allied with Ch'en Chiung-ming, a warlord in Canton of Kwangtung. However, just like other warlords, Ch'en had no intention of working for the unification of China. Instead, he favoured provincial self-rule. Thus conflicts between Sun and Ch'en grew. In 1922, Sun tried to negotiate with the Manchurian warlord, Chang Tso-lin, in the hope of forming an alliance against other warlords in Central China. Ch'en Chiung-ming disliked this policy and turned against Sun, who was then forced to leave Canton.
ii. Re-establishment at Canton - In 1923, however, Sun hired mercenary soldiers (i.e. soldiers who fought for money only) and, with the help of some smaller warlords, succeeded in driving Ch'en out of Canton.
C. Need for KMT reorganization
Despite the re-establishment of power, Sun's hold over the Canton base was far from complete and firm. He had repeatedly been disappointed by warlords and disobedient KMT followers, and he lost confidence in party politics controlled by the Peking warlords. To continue his revolutionary mission, he realized that a solid territorial base, a centralized party, and a strong army were needed. In short, Sun Yat-sen was psychologically prepared to consider new ways of revolution by 1923.
The May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, 1917-1923
A. The growth of Chinese nationalism
Continued foreign imperialism and internal political instability after 1911 aroused the patriotic feelings of many Chinese people. Then, during the First World War (1914-18), various factors contributed to the growth of this force of nationalism:
i. Japan's presentation of the 21 Demands to Yuan Shih-k'ai in 1915 had the effect of unifying the angry Chinese people in the presence of a common external aggressor.
ii. The ideals of national self-determination as advocated by President Wilson of the US stimulated great enthusiasm for liberalism and nationalism among Chinese intellectuals.
iii. The revolutions that occurred in Russia, Finland, Germany and Austria during the war convinced many Chinese that China too needed a revolution to save itself.
B. The rise of a politically conscious merchant class and labour force
Chinese industry and commerce expanded greatly during the First World War, for the following reasons:
i. Internally, the fall of the Ch'ing dynasty removed the traditional conservative checks on and prejudice against commerce and industry. The Republic had issued regulations that encouraged and protected economic activities.
ii. Externally, the First World War led to a quick decline of European industries and trade with Asia. This gave China's industries a good opportunity of expansion. Consequently, by 1919, there appeared new merchant and labour classes who were politically conscious and were ready to speak out against foreign imperialism.
C. The rise of a new, modern intellectual class
The introduction of modern, Western education in China since late Ch'ing times created a class of modern Chinese intellectuals, who realized China's backwardness and were eager to save the country.
D. The emergence of treaty-ports and large cities in China
Both foreign economic imperialism and internal reform in late-Ch'ing China contributed to the emergence of many prosperous treaty-ports and cities in the country. Modern foreign ideas were easily obtained and quickly popularized in these urban areas. The ground for an urban intellectual revolution had been laid.
E. The spread of popular education
Because there was an increase in modern schools, more people could receive Western education. By 1916, for example, there were as many as 10 million Chinese who had in some way been introduced to Western learning. A class of modern citizens who were willing to break with tradition was thus taking shape.
F. The failure of political revolution
By 1919, it became clear that the 1911 Revolution had failed to strengthen China. Many intellectuals understood that changes greater and more fundamental than a political revolution were necessary. In other words, an intellectual revolution was needed.
G. The atmosphere of intellectual freedom provided by warlord disorder
Because of warlord disorder, there was no single national ideology imposed by a unified government on all China. Chinese intellectuals were thus free to experiment with different new ideas imported from the West.
THE MAY FOURTH INCIDENT IN 1919
A. Immediate causes
Toward the end of the First World War, many Chinese were hopeful that, as rewards for China's contributions of war-effort and in accordance with the US President Wilson's idealistic principles, the formerly German concessions seized by Japan in Shantung would be returned to China. At the Versailles Conference of 1919, however., it turned out that Britain, France and Italy had already secretly agreed to support Japan in retaining these concessions, with the approval of the Peking warlord government. This aroused great anger among nationalist Chinese. In protest, some 5,000 students from the Peita (Beijing) University and other educational institutions held a large-scale demonstration in Peking on May 4, 1919. This was the May Fourth Incident.
B. Course
These angry students burned the house of a pro-Japanese Chinese minister. Also, they sent telegrams to students in other parts of China to set up patriotic teams for saving the country. They protested against the unjust Versailles settlement, Japan's war-time imperialist gains in China, and the cowardly Peking warlord government. Three objectives were stated:
i.. to arouse sympathy from all Chinese people,
ii. to force the warlord government to withhold from signing the Versailles treaty, and
iii. to dismiss the pro-Japanese Chinese officials in the Peking government.
Similar demonstrations were held in other cities, such as Tientsin, Shanghai, Nanking and Canton. The newly organized labour unions also joined the nation-wide movement. Soon, even merchants joined the movement by closing their shops in a merchant's strike. There was a general boycott of Japanese goods.
C. Results
The immediate achievements of the May Fourth Incident were limited:
i. Despite China's objections, the great powers at Versailles still decided to leave the Shantung concessions in Japanese hands.
ii. In China, demonstrations soon cooled down, and patriotic societies elsewhere failed to cooperate for joint, powerful action.
iii. Nevertheless, the students in Peking succeeded in embarrassing and bringing down the warlord government.
iv. Also, the Chinese representatives at the Versailles Conference did withhold from signing the peace treaty.
Figure: May Fourth demonstrations in 1919 
Although student demonstrations on May 4, 1919 highlighted it, the May Fourth Intellectual Revolution actually extended from about 1917 to 1923. While the achievements of the 1919 incident were few and limited, the long-term effects of the May Fourth Movement at large were far-reaching and important in Chinese history.
A. Intellectual significance
i. Popularization of modern, Western ideas - Modern ideas from the West were widely accepted by Chinese intellectuals, ideas like democracy, liberalism, socialism, pragmatism (i.e. theory that the truth and value of an idea depends on the practical effects it brings to human interests), and utilitarianism (i.e. theory that emphasizes practical usefulness of things, not their outward beauty). To be sure, these beliefs had been introduced into China before the May Fourth Movement, but it was the Movement that further popularized them among Chinese intellectuals.
ii. Criticism and abandonment of tradition - In the past, the Confucian tradition of cultural self-sufficiency and superiority made Chinese scholars unwilling to borrow from foreign cultures. In the May Fourth Intellectual Revolution, however, Chinese intellectuals critically measured themselves against, and totally accepted, modern Western ideas. This represented a willingness to criticize China's tradition and to regard Chinese history as part of world history.
iii. Rise of democratic spirit - Many of the modern ideas might not be actually put into practice. Yet the democratic spirit that they brought decisively destroyed the cultural tradition of the past. In short, there was an intellectual breakthrough in the May Fourth Movement.
B. Literary significance
i. Introduction of the pai-hua - During the May Fourth Movement, classical written Chinese (wen-yen) was rejected. The pai-hua (baihua), which was written vernacular Chinese, was introduced.
ii. Rising literacy rate - In traditional China, only the scholar class knew classical written Chinese because the language was difficult to learn and different from spoken Chinese. The pai-hua, however, was colloquial and thus easy to master. Efforts to popularize the paihua during the May Fourth period had thus the effect of raising the literacy rate in society (i.e. more people were able to read and write).
C. Social significance
i. Expansion of popular education and rise of public opinion - The popularity of the pai-hua and the Western idea of progress contributed to the growth of popular education, which in turn contributed to the rise of modern public opinion in China.
ii. Attack on social traditions - Social traditions of the past were under attack. The old family system, for example, was condemned by young intellectuals. Instead, the ideal of nuclear families was advocated. Young people began to demand individual freedom from the traditional collective way of living. Young girls rose to attack the traditional discrimination against women. Co-education and marriage based on love were advocated.
iii. Increased political consciousness among the new social forces - The May Fourth Movement saw the rise of Modern China's new social forces. Modern merchants, industrialists and city workers, all of whom were products of modernization, became increasingly politically conscious. They participated in many of the anti-foreign boycotts.
iv. Increased class consciousness - In the past, local-provincial feeling among the Chinese people was strong. During the May Fourth Movement, however, as workers and students in different places protested against some common enemy (e.g. imperialism, Japanese aggression), class consciousness was promoted in China.
v. Leadership of modern intellectuals - A new generation of progressive young intellectuals who were Western-educated rose to leadership in Chinese public life. Their presence began to challenge the traditional social leadership of the Confucian scholar-gentry.
D. Political significance
i. Politicized Chinese nationalism - Anti-imperialist demonstrations against the great powers and anti-Japanese riots strengthened the force of modern Chinese nationalism. Student and labour movements grew increasingly active. More people were interested, some even actively involved, in political matters.
ii. Rise of politicized student movements - In the May Fourth Movement, students discovered that organized propaganda and demonstrations could bring positive results. Student movements of a political nature were in this way stimulated.
iii. Political importance of the new social forces - Whereas politics before 1919 seemed a game exclusively monopolized by the few and for the few, more and more political leaders after 1919 developed contact with, and tried to gain support from, the politically conscious masses. Mao Tse-tung's revolutionary programs, which put great emphasis on the peasants, originated from the May Fourth experience, as he himself admitted.
iv. Contribution to national unification - The anti-warlord activities of the May Fourth Movement aroused great concern for China's political disunity. This factor indirectly contributed to the national unification of 1928.
v. Democratic meaning of anti-warlord demonstrations - Anti-warlord demonstrations had a revolutionary political meaning: when students proclaimed their lack of confidence in the warlord government, they in effect announced that the government should have the people's confidence if it was to stand. It was here that the May Fourth democratic spirit could best be seen.
vi. KMT conservatism - As the KMT base was in the south, it was much less involved than any other political groups in the democratic May Fourth Movement. As a result, the KMT became comparatively more conservative. In the end, this factor helped explain the failure of the KMT in dealing with China's social and economic problems after 1928.
A. Lack of determination, coordination and planning
Many of the May Fourth activities were short-lived and failed to bring about long-term and basic changes. For example, there were few efforts in coordinating the different anti-imperialist activities, and most of these activities were unplanned. Although workers participated in riots, their lives and minds were not in the long run affected by the new ideas introduced during the Movement.
B. Urban-bound extent of influence
The May Fourth Movement seldom spread beyond the cities. It was basically a city movement. Serious social and economic problems of China's large countryside were seldom recognized.
C. Uncritical acceptance of Western ideas and rejection of Chinese tradition
In revising China's culture, modern intellectuals had the habit of destroying tradition and replacing it with Western culture. In so doing, however, they did not succeed in building up a new Chinese culture. This was because their criticisms of tradition were "seldom fair and sympathetic" and "often oversimplified and shallow". Western ideas were accepted without much consideration of whether they suited China's conditions.
D. Limited practical achievements
The immediate and political achievements of the May Fourth Incident were limited. Other than success in bringing down a warlord government in 1919, the Movement as a whole failed to solve China's political problems. Warlords remained as powerful as they were, and foreign imperialism still existed. After all, China failed to change the Versailles settlement concerning the Shantung rights, the very thing that excited riots on the morning of May 4, 1919.
The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party
A. Marxism
i. The concepts of c/ass struggle and economically determined history - According to Karl Marx (founder of Communism, living in Europe in the 19th century), history moves in continuous struggles between different classes of society for material benefits:
a. First, there was "Feudalism", from ancient times to about the late 18th century, when the upper social class like the nobility ruled over and exploited the other classes below.
b. Secondly, there was "Capitalism", emerging after the late 18th century, when the middle-class such as businessmen and industrialists grew in power, became dissatisfied with feudal rule, overthrew the feudal class (in movements like the French Revolution of 1789), and set up a government of their own. In turn, however, the middle-class exploited and oppressed lower-classes like workers and peasants. But as industrialization progressed, the strength of the workers steadily grew.
c. Thirdly, there would be "Socialism or Communism". As Marx predicted, the workers and peasants, who could no longer tolerate capitalist exploitation, would revolt against the middle-class oppressors, seize factories and farms, abolish social inequalities, and set up a government for the benefit of all common people. Life would be happy thereafter.
ii. The importance of workers in urban revolutions - Marx foretold two things:
a. First, factory workers were more politically conscious than ignorant peasants. Thus workers were the most important force in the future Communist revolution. .
b. Secondly, it was in great European industrial centres like London that Communist revolutions would most likely take place, since the factory workers there were most powerful.
B. Leninism
i. Marx's predictions did not come true.
a. First, though Russia was not among the most industrialized countries nor had many workers, she had nevertheless a successful Socialist revolution in 1917.
b. Secondly, the European workers had not risen in revolt even by 1919. On the contrary, they patriotically worked overtime to help their capitalist countries during the First World War (1914-18).
ii. Lenin's contributions to Communism - Lenin therefore added more ideas to the original Marxist theories. According to Lenin:
a. the Socialist Revolution of 1917 of Russia was successful because there was a centralized, unified and well-organized Communist party to lead the otherwise weak and disunited lower classes. Unlike Marx who believed that the workers would automatically rise against the middle class themselves, Lenin insisted that a small group of leaders should be responsible for guiding the workers and organizing armed uprisings. These few leaders knew more about Communist ideas, science, and history, and were thus in a better position to apply their knowledge for the masses.
b. The workers in Western Europe did not revolt against the middle-class governments because the capitalists had succeeded in delaying any such revolt by bribing the workers with colonial wealth. Such wealth was ill-gotten by imperialism. Thus Lenin argued that non-European colonial peoples (like the Chinese) had the responsibility or mission to attack imperialism. The purpose was to put an end to colonial profits that European capitalists got from imperialism, which would thereby quicken Communist revolutions led by workers in Europe. Whereas Marx depended entirely on European workers for starting Communist revolutions, Lenin gave non-European colonial peoples of the world a part to play. In colonial areas (like China), the workers, peasants and middle-class should form a "united front" against the imperialist great powers.
c. A feudal, colonial country (like 20th-century China) could bypass Capitalism to jump to Socialism immediately if there was the proper guidance of a strong Communist party, even though Marx argued that a country must have Capitalism before Socialism.
C. Problems of Marxist-Leninism
i. Both Marx and Lenin overemphasized the importance of economic, impersonal factors and forces in history leading to Communist revolutions.
ii. The Marxist-Leninist dependence on the working class in spreading Communism was inapplicable to non-industrialized countries where there were few industrial workers.
D. Maoism - ideas of Mao Zedong
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF COMMUNISM IN CHINA
A. The attractiveness of Communism as a body of thought to modern Chinese intellectuals
i. The Communist principle of class struggle offered simplistic explanations for the complex problems of China in the early 20th century.
ii. Compared with Western democracy, Communism provided more inclusive, complete and comprehensive ideas for Chinese intellectuals to analyse and think about.
iii. It had been part of China's intellectual tradition to play down the importance of material things but to emphasize moral values. Communism's emphasis on virtues like self-sacrifice or unselfishness fitted well with China's moral requirements. Like the Confucian scholars in the past, modern Chinese intellectuals could, on becoming Communists, see themselves as guardians of a public morality.
iv. To Chinese nationalists, Communism's class analysis could account for China's backwardness in terms of the shortcomings of the old Chinese ruling class (Manchus, Confucian scholar-gentry), thus avoiding the sensitive implication that the Chinese as a race were corrupt. When the blame for China's weakness was put on the traditional ruling classes, Chinese intellectuals could still take pride in the Chinese past and in being Chinese. Self-respect and national pride could be restored.
v. Communism was the most advanced philosophy and was a goal not yet achieved even in Western Europe and America. On accepting Communism, China would seem to be ideologically ahead of other Western capitalist countries. Besides, Communism seemed more scientific and modern than ideas like democracy. Chinese intellectuals would obtain a sense of psychological superiority in believing in Communism.
vi. Because Lenin emphasized the important role played by colonial peoples in the world revolution, Chinese intellectuals were filled with a sense of mission and a feeling of comfort and importance. China would no longer be a passive and helpless borrower of Western culture: on accepting Communism, China would have a part to play in determining mankind's future. Indeed, Lenin's explanation of imperialism suited the anti-imperialist attitude of Chinese intellectuals and saved face for them.
Figure: Young Teng Xiaoping who was a communist studying in France. 
B. The suitabilty and applicability of Communism to China's conditions
i. When compared with democracy and capitalism, Communism paid more attention to social problems and their solutions.
ii. Just like Russia, China had many poor peasants, who formed a good revolutionary force for a Communist revolution. If Russia could practice Communism, China could also do so.
iii. Traditionally, Chinese peasants were accustomed to passively obeying the leadership of a small group of social leadership - the Confucian scholars. Chinese intellectuals, on becoming Communist leaders, could thus conveniently replace the Confucian scholars to direct the ignorant peasants.
iv. Communism's effective methods of political organization provided new political weapons for Chinese intellectuals to use against both the warlords and the foreign imperialist powers. Since Chinese society was fundamentally group-based (i.e. people were used to group-organization), the Communist principle of group unity was agreeable to and would be welcomed by the Chinese.
v. Because of both foreign economic exploitation and Chinese conservatism, capitalism had not been firmly established in China, even by the early 1920s. Despairing of the practicability of capitalism in China, some Chinese intellectuals began to turn to Communism as a substitute.
vi. Parliamentary rule in Peking became a plaything under the warlords and completely lost its real meaning. Despairing of the suitability of the Western parliamentary system in China, some Chinese intellectuals began to turn to Communism.
C. The effects of the First World War
i. Even the democratic-capitalist European countries fought with each other. This seemed to prove that Western democracy had serious weaknesses and that the Communist prediction about the decline of capitalism was correct.
ii. Many Chinese intellectuals believed that the First World War both arose out of and clearly demonstrated the selfish material culture of the West. To save China, they looked for a modern yet moral world order. Communism seemed to offer such an order.
iii. The 1919 Versailles Settlement that concluded the war did not abolish imperialist treaty-rights that foreign powers enjoyed in China. More than that, the former German concessions in Shantung, which Japan seized during the war, were allowed to remain in Japanese hands. Consequently, Chinese intellectuals were bitterly disappointed. Some-of them lost confidence in Western democracy in general and began turning to Communism.
D. The effects of the Bolshevik success in Russia in 1917
i Russia was similar to China in terms of backwardness. Yet Communism succeeded in Russia in 1917. This strengthened the hope among Chinese intellectuals that Communism could really be practiced in China.
ii. The Bolshevik success in October-November 1917 seemed to show the effectiveness, efficiency and popularity of Communism.
iii. After 1917, the Soviet government had twice announced its willingness to give up previous imperialist privileges enjoyed by Tsarist Russia (before 1917) in China. As a result, some Chinese intellectuals became more sympathetic toward Soviet Russia and, by extension, Communism.
E. The effects of the May Fourth Movement in China
The May Fourth intellectual revolution popularized Communism in the following ways:
i. The destruction of China's traditions like Confucianism cleared the way for the introduction of new ideas like Communism.
ii. The May Fourth Movement produced an atmosphere of radical spirit, intellectual curiosity and ideological experimentation. This made it easier for the acceptance of Communism by Chinese intellectuals.
iii. The May Fourth Incident of 1919 saw the rise of new, politically conscious social forces in China, like students, businessmen, middle-class members or workers. Many Chinese intellectuals rightly recognized the political usefulness and revolutionary potential of these popular forces. To unite all Chinese people against foreign imperialism, Communism provided the best instrument, since it was an ideology calling upon the common people as a whole to save the country.
iv. The May Fourth Incident made students and intellectuals politically active. They were thus more prepared to organize political groupings such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) themselves.
v. The May Fourth Movement also showed that efforts to save China were very urgent. Further delay would result in the destruction of the Chinese race. Thus, a more far-reaching, complete and advanced ideology (like Communism) was welcomed.
F. Conclusion: radicalization of Chinese intellectuals
Before 1919, most Chinese intellectuals believed that China's manifold problems could be slowly solved by evolutionary and reformist measures. In view of the growing seriousness of the problems, however, it became clear that such a belief was false. After 1919, therefore, some Chinese intellectuals felt that only more revolutionary and radical efforts could save China. Communism was accepted.
THE FORMATION OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY (CCP) IN 1921
A Introduction of Marxism in China
It was probable that Marxism was introduced in China in 1905. But from 1905 to 1919, the influence of Marxism remained very small. It was not until the May Fourth Movement that Communism was made more popular in China.
B. Founding of Marxist study groups, 1918-1921
i. In North China, Li Ta-chao, who was a librarian in the University of Peking, became a Communist in 1918. He founded Marxist study groups to study the ideology in Peking. Men like Ch'u Ch'iu-pai and Mao Tse-tung, who later became important Communist leaders, worked under him as followers.
ii. In the south, Ch'en Tu-hsiu, who was originally Dean of the Peking University, organized similar Marxist study groups in Shanghai in 1920. Other societies like these soon sprang up in China. For the time being, however, their strength was still weak.
C. Russian encouragement
In early 1920, Voitinsky, a Russian representing the Comintern (i.e. international Communist organization dominated by Soviet Russia), came to China and discussed first with Li Ta-chao and then with Ch'en Tu-hsiu the possibility of organizing a unified Communist party.
D. Founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
Under the guidance of Soviet Russia, a founding meeting of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) was held in Shanghai in July 1921. It was attended by 12 men (including Mao Tse-tung) who represented about 60 other members all over China. Ch 'en Tu-hsiu and Li Ta-chao were absent, but they were recognized as the two founders of the CCP.
Figure: First meeting of CCP at Shanghai 
E. Weakness of the CCP
Because the different Marxist study groups came from and represented different areas of China, the newly formed CCP was not unified and centralized. Moreover, Ch'en Tuhsiu and Li Ta-chao disagreed on the policy that the CCP should adopt:
i. Following the Russian model of revolution, Ch'en Tuhsiu believed that only urban workers, not the ignorant peasants, could bring about a Communist revolution.
ii. More concerned about the actual conditions of China, Li Ta-chao believed that the peasants were the main force in carrying out a Communist revolution. To Li, young Chinese intellectuals should go into the villages to organize and save the peasants. Unfortunately he was killed by a warlord in 1927. Mao Tse-tung, his follower, took up his ideas, further refined them, and put them into practice afterwards.
F. Policy of the CCP
Because of Soviet Russia's influence, Ch'en Tu-hsiu's policy of organizing the workers was adopted in the CCP after 1921.
@Philip Woo, 1980. Adapted by TK Chung.